1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is in the field of exercise apparatus. More specifically it is in the field of such apparatus for exercising internal organs and skeletal muscle groups along with exercise of virtually all voluntarily controlled muscles. Still more particularly the apparatus is in the field of art related to exercise in which the exercising person provides all the input energy at whatever level judged to be appropriate. Further, the invention is in the field of such apparatus which accomodates the user in a supine position.
2. Prior Art
Prior art in this field is profuse, ranging from cradles, swings, rocking chairs, rocking horses, pogo sticks, trampolines and the like, to the rocking tables used in hospitals and other care centers for exercising invalids and the apparatus designed to provide exercise for people in zero gravity environment in space travel. The inventor was involved in the design, development and testing of space oriented exercise apparatus with the Boeing Company, Aerospace Division in 1963. (Aerospace Medicine, December 1966 "Independence of Changes In Functional and Performance Capacities Attending Prolonged Bed Rest.") The related art found in a preliminary search of the art is listed here. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,750,549 Thomson et al.; 3,586,322 Kverneland;
2,841,139 Tarr; 3,770,267 McCarthy; PA1 3,164,150 Reid; 4,149,713 McLeod; PA1 4,198,045 Miller;
Further arts, includes a German patent, No. 469,155 by Raihofer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,267 by McCarthy and U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,124 by Maknke. However, the closest and most pertinent prior art is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,953 issued to the subject inventor, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 083,044 by the subject inventor and U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,150 issued to the subject inventor. All the examples in the prior art provide passive and/or active exercise of various types and degrees with various means and techniques for adjusting and/or controlling the various characteristics of the exercises. All the various kinds and types of apparatus and equipment can be compared in terms of cost, space requirements, effectiveness, versatility, serviceability, utility and other factors, including environmental effects such as noise.
In spite of the profuseness of the prior art, apparatus providing certain attributes, either generally desirable or desirable under certain circumstances was not available until provided by the inventions by the subject inventor.
One attribute is that the apparatus offers essentially equivalent effects in both the foot-to-head and head-to-foot directions. Another attribute is that the person exercising be subjected to forces parallel to the spinal column with the forces ranging from less than the person's weight to more than the person's weight or, in more technical terminology, less than the force of gravity to more than the force of gravity, usually expressed in terms of g, the acceleration of gravity: less than 1 g to more than 1 g. This attribute is enhanced when the magnitudes of the forces in the foot-to-head direction are independently controllable relative to the magnitudes of the forces in the head-to-foot direction.
Another attribute is that the exercise is primarily for the purposes of relaxation, cardiovascular stimulation and toning as different from exercise primarily for developing strength.
In the apparatus in six of the prior art patents the user is or may be prone, these being U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,841,139, 3,164,150, 4,101,124, 4,198,045, 4,272,074, and German patent No. 469,155. Of these various patented concepts, that of Raihofer is the only one which offers the attribute of essentially equivalent effects in both the foot-to-head and head-to-foot directions. Several of the concepts offer the attribute of exercise with feet and legs variable or optional. None offer the specific attributes of (1) controlled forces ranging from less than the force of gravity to more than the force of gravity, (2) having the magnitudes of head-to-foot direction forces be independently controllable related to the magnitudes of foot-to-head direction forces and (3) providing exercise primarily for the purposes of cardiovascular stimulation and toning as different from exercise primarily for developing muscle strength.
The subject invention provides exercise apparatus in which the person exercising or being exercised is subjected to forces in directions essentially parallel to the backbone and from head toward foot and foot toward head with the magnitudes of the forces controllable in the range from a fraction of the force of gravity to multiples of the force of gravity. The forces in the direction from foot to head are independently controllable relative to the magnitude of the forces in the direction from head to foot. The apparatus also provides exercise primarily for the purpose of cardiovascular stimulation and toning.